Fallen Angels
by Sorceress Zelda
Summary: After Squall and the others fail to kill Ultimecia, they find themselves in a different world, and they are mostly separated. Rinoa is found by none other than Marlene Wallace, and Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart take her in. As the group of SeeDs (plus Rinoa) begin to reunite, the reasons of them being in this world are told, and while they're in that world, angels will fall.
1. Chapter 1

**Fallen Angel**

**Chapter One**

**Withered SeeDs**

_I have__ to stay strong_. _I can't let them do this on their own._

The sky was a very dark grey that was quickly darkening to black, and it was twisted and distorted. The cause of this ruined sky was their foe; a woman covered in strange purple marks wearing a red dress that was way to revealing for any normal woman to be comfortable in. She looked like a cross between an angel and a demon, with black wings and her hair styled into devil-like horns.

Rinoa Heartilly felt her strength fading. Though the weapon was usually light-weight, Rinoa felt as if the Blaster Edge she used was getting heavier on her arm.

Rinoa was scared. She had a feeling that they couldn't do this -that they couldn't save their world. But just thinking about losing everything made Rinoa feel sick.

'Squall,' Rinoa wanted to say, but her voice had given away due to a lump in her throat.

_Are we going to die here? _she wondered.

Rinoa looked around at her surroundings. Squall Leonhart, her lover and knight, was trying to stand tall as he once again tried to wound their opponent. Zell Dincht was trying to use magic, but his Guardian Force didn't seem to be present. Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tillmit, and Irvine Kinneas were also attacking the enemy the old-fashion way (using only their weapons), but their attacks were doing nothing.

"Foolish SeeDs!" the enemy thundered. "I am a descendant of Hyne! I am a goddes! There's nothing you can do to cause my demise!"

Rinoa wasn't sure if they would survive this, but she knew there was one person that would comfort her.

Clumsily (due to all of their foe's magic weighing down on her), Rinoa walked to that person.

"Squall."

Her voice was heard this time as she touched Squall's shoulder, but it sounded hoarse and raspy.

"Squall, will we be okay?"  
"Of coarse we will," Squall said firmly. "We've come so far… we've worked so hard to get to this moment, and now the whole world is in our hands. We can't let Ultimecia get to us."

Though Squall spoke strongly and supposedly surly, the young dark-haired sorceress could sence the uncertainty he felt. There was nothing that the seventeen-year-old boy could hide from her.

"You su-"

Rinoa must've irked Ultimecia by inturrupting the battle, because before Rinoa could finish saying the word "sure", she shot silver-colored flames at both Rinoa and Squall.

Rinoa felt like all of her bones would fracture as she bellowed in pain. Squall got up imedeatly, but Rinoa was no where near as strong as him. The world spun and she heard her heart thumping in her ears as she stood, wobbling a bit before spreading out her legs to keeps her balance.

"There is nothing you can do, SeeDs!" Ultimecia sneered. "Your world is gone! Time will compress!"

Then, Ultimecia threw out her arms, and she was engulfed by an eerie purple aura. Then, the world around Rinoa began to morph, being twisted and torn. Rinoa felt like she was going to be torn in two as she once again fell to the ground.

By now, the world was spinning so fast that Rinoa swore she would puke. Rinoa could hear the thumping in her ears so loudly that she was sure the earth below her was vibrating. Rinoa tried her best to get back on her feet, but the pain was too great. Soon, Rinoa cried out one more time, not just in physical pain, but in the pain of knowing all she cherished would be lost. Then, she she fell unconcious.

* * *

The phone began to ring as Tifa sat alone, tapping the table, waiting for Denzel and Marlene to return from running errands. Tifa stood up and went to answer it.

"Hello?" Tifa said, answering the phone.  
"Tifa?" Cloud's voice came from the other end of the phone.  
"Cloud?" Tifa said surprisedly. He was actually calling! "…Are you okay?"  
"What?" he asked, not sure what Tifa was asking.  
"Are you okay? You never call."  
"Yes, I'm fine. But didn't you say you wanted to come with me next time I went to the church?"  
"You actually remembered to call me!" Tifa laughed.  
"…Yeah. I'm going to the church tonight."  
"Oh. See you there?"  
"Yeah."

They both hung up, and Tifa's heart felt light. Cloud calling made you feel good. As soon as Tifa put down the phone, Marlene and Denzel came in happily, Marlene skipping holding her shopping bag with both hands.

"We're going to the church tonight," Tifa smiled at the two.

* * *

_Numbness…  
__Emptiness…  
__Pain…_

It's all he could feel

_Numbness…  
__Emptiness…  
__**Pain…**_

The first two were crushed by the third.

_**Pain…**_

"Squall…?"  
"…Ellone…?"

* * *

Marlene laughed and ran into the church happily, Denzel walking in behind her. Tifa and Cloud entered together, Tifa catching up with the things going on with Cloud's job.

Marlene ran to the flowerbed full of daffodils and lilies, stopped, then turned around and ran back to the adults, fear and concern in her eyes.  
"What?" Tifa asked her.  
"There's a girl sleeping in the flowers!" she cried.  
"What!?" Cloud asked, walking to the flowerbed.

There was an unconcious girl laying in those flowers. She had dark hair that flowed down to her shoulder blades, and was wearing a blue vest that's long in the back. Cloud couldn't see the shirt she was wearing under it, because she was lying stomach-down. The things that caught his attention the most in her appearance were the white angel wings imprinted on her back.

Cloud carefully nudged her with his foot, turning her slightly towards him before she fell back to her original position.

"Is she alive?" Tifa asked, kneeling down and rolling the girl over. Now, Cloud could see the girl's face. She looked young -seventeen or eighteen years old- and wore a black shirt under her vest. She wore a button up denim skirt and black zip-up biker shorts on her legs, and combat boots on her feet.

Tifa grasped the mystery girl's wrist and held it, sighing with relief when she felt a pulse.

"Cloud," she said, looking at the blonde man, "we have to help her. We can't-"  
"We don't have enough room for anymore people living with us," Cloud inturrupted.  
"Only until we know she's fi-"  
"I want to help her us much as you do but-"  
"Cloud, we can't just leave her here to die! I know you want to bring her home somewhere inside you. Please. Just until we know she's fine."  
"…Fine."

Cloud then picked up the mystery girl and carried her out of the church, gave the girl to Tifa as he got onto his motorbike, then said, "I'll take her with me."

Tifa smiled, then hoisted the girl onto Cloud's bike. Cloud let the girl lean onto his back, and held one of her hands, the other on the handlebars.

"See you at the bar," he then said, then drove off.

* * *

Where am I?_ Rinoa wondered. She wasn't in her world, that's for sure. But where was she? All she knew was that she was in a small village. _

_Before she had time to think more about it, she heard a piercing scream, then she saw smoke in the air. A warm light came from the same area as the smoke, telling her that a house was on fire. Rinoa was worried, so she darted toward the burning house. _

_As she neared the house, something made her stop in her tracks. There was man with long silver hair walking with a torch from the house. His eyes glowed green stared at Rinoa, his eyes looking into her soul. Then, he began walking towards her. _

_Rinoa swallowed her nervousness, then said awkwardly, "Hello?"_

_The man didn't seem to hear Rinoa, or notice her in fact. He strode right past her to the house behind her, and soon, that house was being devoured by flames as well._

_Rinoa tried to stop the man, but it was no use. He ignored her, acting as if she wasn't there. So Rinoa was forced to stand and watch lives being taken. _

_As continued wrecking the village, another man went around gathering the injured. _

_Soon, there was only a few houses spared from the flames. The silver-haired man then turned and left, heading toward a mountain near the village. Rinoa was about to go after him, but someone else did before her, so Rinoa decided not to. She turned back and sat down next to the man who gathered the wounded. _

_'Do you know who that person was?' Rinoa tried to ask, but her voice wouldn't come out. _

_"Master!" Rinoa then heard a voice cry. As she looked up see be who the voice belonged to, her sight began to fade, and her head hurt. She barely able to see ttry young woman that looked just a bit older than her with long brown hair and brown eyes towards them before she fell unconcious._


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter isn't done. But I really really really needed to update. My chapters are pretty short, so I kinda wanted to make this one longer. So, I'm posting what I got now, and will finish the chapter later :3**

**[UPDATE]: I finished it :D**

* * *

**Fallen Angel**

**Chapter Two**

**Rinoa**

_Rinoa woke up somewhere else than she was before. She was now in a room that was dimly lit, and it had strange capsules, and a staircase that led to another doorway. The room had an eerie feel to it; a feeling that made Rinoa uneasy._

_Rinoa looked around, and then heard the thumping of footsteps. The man with the silver hair that she saw earlier stormed in. He stormed past her and up the stairs, acting as if she wasn't there. As soon as he walked in, she heard him muttering things to his "mother". Curious about who would live in this kind of place, Rinoa ran up the stairs after him. Rinoa froze and wrinkled her nose when she read a sign that was above the door the_

_Jenovah…? Rinoa wondered. What kind of name is that…?_

_Rinoa once again heard footsteps in the room behind her. She spun around on her heals to see the girl she saw earlier; the one with the long brown hair. She was holding a long-bladed sword, and Rinoa had a feeling she knew what the girl was planning on using it for._

_"Sephiroth!" she cried, running up the stairs. "How dare you do this to Father!? How dare you do this to everyone in the village!?"_

_She swung the sword at the silver-haired man, (Rinoa now guessed his name was Sephiroth), but the blade didn't leave a mark on his skin. Instead, he gripped the blade and lifted the girl off her feet. The girl struggled to break free, but her efforts were useless, and Sephiroth took the precious time of her struggling to skillfully flip the sword and slash at the girl's chest._

_Rinoa screamed as the girl fell back, and stumbled down the stairs. Sephiroth smirked, then opened up the door in front of him and entered the next room. Rinoa abandoned Sephiroth and ran to the girl laying on the floor. She tried to touch her, but it was as if the energy of the injured girl was repelling Rinoa's._

_"In spite of your promising me that…" the wounded girl said, "you would come whenever I'm in a pinch… Cloud…"_

* * *

The girl began stirring on Cloud's back. He slowed down his bike, and checked to see if the girl was awake. She didn't seem to be, but she didn't stop stirring. Cloud wasn't sure if he should continue going; the girl might fall off. He would have to try to wake her up.

"Hey," he called, shaking her a little. She stirred a little more, then her eyes fluttered open.

"Ughn…" she groaned.  
"You okay?" Cloud asked her.  
"Mm… where am I…?"  
"In Midgar."  
"Mid…gar?"

The girl opened her brown eyes wider and looked around.

"Midgar…" she repeated. She sat up straight on the bike, and looked at Cloud. "Midgar?"  
"Uh… yeah. Midgar."

The girl furrowed her brow.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked.  
"What happened?" the girl said, not answering Cloud's question.  
"I found you in the church."  
"Church?" the girl said. "I'm so confused…"  
"What's your name?"

The girl was silent for a while, and Cloud guessed that something must have happened to make her forget.

"You probably fell into the church and hit your head," he said.  
"I guess…" the girl sighed. "I can't remember anyth… Rinoa!"  
"What?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.  
"That's it! Rinoa Heartilly! That's my name."  
"Oh…"  
"Where are we going?"  
"To Seventh Heaven -a bar my friend works at."  
"A bar? Why?"  
"She might be able to help you."  
"Okay…"  
"How old are you?"  
"Seventeen."  
"Mhm…"  
"What is _your_ name?"  
"Cloud. Cloud Strife."  
"And how old are you, Cloud Strife?"  
"Twenty-three."  
"Okay!" Rinoa beamed.

Cloud started up the bike again, and Rinoa gasped and grabbed his shirt.

"What?" he asked, slightly looking over his shoulder.  
"Sorry," she apologized, "I was afraid I was going to fall off."  
"Oh… no problem."

As soon as Cloud pulled up to the bar and stopped, Rinoa let go of his shirt, she got off, then he got off.

* * *

"…Ellone…?"

Squall opened his eyes and blinked. Where _was_ he? What happened? He seemed to be laying in a bed, and sitting next to his bed was his adopted sister, Ellone.

"What…?" he started. "I don't…"

_Oh yeah,_ he remembered, _the Sorceress… We…_

Ellone smiled.

"We found you behind an old church," she said.  
"We?"  
"Uncle Laguna and I."  
"And where is…"  
"He went to get us something to eat. He thought you were dead at first."  
"Where are the others? Where's Rinoa?"  
"…" Ellone said nothing, but stared down at her feet.  
"We… didn't see them. Or at least, where she went."  
"Where she went?" Squall asked, sitting up. "Where who went?"  
"Uncle Laguna and I met two people earlier… before we found you. Their names were Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart. As soon as we found you behind that church, I saw them leaving the church… with an unconscious Rinoa."  
"And you didn't stop them?"  
"They were good people, I assure you. I thought she would be better off with them. I've been sending her consciousness to their past while she was asleep, just so she can trust them. I, surely, do trust them. And if you don't, I'll make you."

* * *

When Rinoa and Cloud walked into the bar, Rinoa smiled. It seemed like a nice, cozy place.

"Do you live here?" she asked Cloud.  
"You could say that," Cloud replied. "It's more of where Tifa lives."  
"Tifa? Is Tifa a… girl?"  
"She was with me when we found you. She should be home soon."  
"Oh… so she owns the bar? It's called Seventh Heaven, right?"  
"Yeah… you're right about both of those things."

Rinoa smiled again, and Cloud was sure the room got brighter.

"Tifa's a girl… is she your girl-_friend?_" she asked in a singsong voice.

_Everyone thinks that,_ Cloud sighed to himself, shaking his head. _That's almost exactly what Aeris said…_

When the name "Aeris" crossed his mind, a pang of guild hit Cloud. He couldn't get over the fact that isn't seemed it was his fault she died… he couldn't save her… he let her die…  
_"Dilly-dally shilly-shally,"_ Aeris' voice said in his head, and he smiled to himself.

Seeing that Tifa wasn't Cloud's girlfriend, Rinoa asked, "Do you like her?"  
"Of coarse I like her. She's a childhood friend."  
"That's not what I mean," Rinoa giggled. "I mean _like_-like her."  
"…What?"  
"Have you ever gone on a date?" Rinoa asked, smiling.  
"Why?" Cloud asked. Why did this girl want to know so much?  
"Because. I'm surprised an attractive guy like you is still single. I would probably have a crush on you if I didn't already have a boyfriend."  
"Uh…"

Cloud shook his head again, and Rinoa giggled.

"Sorry," she said.  
"Never mind," Cloud sighed.

Rinoa burst out into laughter, which made Cloud want to laugh. This girl was so… happy. Cloud knew he was that happy once, but that was more than six years ago. Who knew when he would feel that way again…

He came close to being that happy recently, and that was when he saved the lives of countless children, including Denzel. But his mind wasn't at ease. Would it ever be? Cloud decided to take his mind off of that.

"Come upstairs with me," he said.  
"Why?" Rinoa asked nervously, her laughter ending suddenly.  
"Because I… do you remember anything other than your name or the fact you have a boyfriend?"

Rinoa shook her head.

"Alright, I want to see what you remember."  
"…Okay…"

Cloud and Rinoa walked up the stairs, Cloud looking over his shoulder every once and a while to make sure Rinoa was still there. As soon as they got upstairs, Cloud turned and had Rinoa follow him into his office. He gestured her to a chair by the window, then Cloud sat at his desk, then looked up at her.

"Your name is Rinoa Heartilly?" he asked.  
"Yup," Rinoa smiled.  
"Alright. Do you remember where you're from?"

"No?"  
"No," Rinoa frowned.  
"That's fine," Cloud sighed. "Do you remember anything about your family?"  
"…My father, I think, was some sort of government official… my mother…"

_Government official…?_ Cloud wondered. _Is that even possible…? She can't be from Shinra… or maybe…_

"What's your father's name?"  
"Fury… Caraway…?"  
"What?"

This couldn't be right. Cloud would've know if there was any government official named Fury Caraway. He knew everyone in Shinra (and just because he knew them didn't mean he had to like them) and there was no one with that name. And didn't Rinoa say her last name was Heartilly?

"Have you ever been to Shinra?" Cloud blurted out.

Rinoa stared blankly at him, then shook her head slowly.

"Are you sure?"  
"I'm… pretty sure…" Rinoa said, folding her arms, "…why?"  
"'Pretty sure?'"  
"I can't remember."

Cloud sighed, then began looking through the papers on his desk. Maybe he could find someone with the last name 'Heartilly' or 'Caraway' that he delivered something to. As he did so, thoughts about Rinoa swam around his mind.

_Could it be Mako Poisoning? That could be it… it does alter your memories… she says she has never been to Shinra… but that could be a side affect from the Mako…_

Cloud looked up at Rinoa. She was staring out the window with a wistful look in her eyes. Cloud sighed, knowing that all Rinoa wanted was to go home.

Cloud looked back down and began shuffling through the papers again, but soon afterwards, he heard Rinoa gasp in pain. He looked up to see Rinoa's hand clasped over her temples, and a few tears flooding out of her eyes. Then, she stumbled off of the chair, unconscious.


End file.
